LOVE, HANDEL Comes to The Handel and Haydn Society

The Handel and Haydn Society will welcome acclaimed soprano Joélle Harvey to join the H+H Orchestra under the direction of Artistic Director Jonathan Cohen to present “Love, Handel,” a program of three passionate works by George Frideric Handel at New England Conservatory’s Jordan Hall on February 7 + 9. The concerts showcase Harvey on two of Handel’s secular cantatas composed while he was in Italy; also on the program is the first of Handel’s opus 6 concertos, considered one of the pinnacles of concerto composition in western Baroque music. The H+H Youth Choruses Chamber Choir accompanied by the H+H Orchestra will open each performance with two songs from Handel oratorios: “O Love Divine” from Theodora and “Happy We!” from Acis and Galatea.

“This Valentine’s Day we invite you to fall in love with the brilliance and beauty of Handel’s music, performed on period instruments like Handel knew and composed for, and as it was heard by its original listeners,” said David Snead, Philip and Marjorie Gerdine President and CEO of the Handel and Haydn Society. “We are delighted to welcome audience favorite Joélle Harvey back to the H+H stage for these performances. Her extraordinary vocal range and expressive, precise delivery is perfectly suited to bring Handel’s cantatas to life.”

With Cohen serving as conductor, director, and storyteller all in one, “Love, Handel” takes audiences on a musical journey through two dramatic cantatas based on tragic Greek myths. The cantata’s virtuosic soprano solos will be performed by Joélle Harvey, who regularly appears with the major orchestra and opera companies of the United States and Europe including the Metropolitan Opera, New York Philharmonic, The Glimmerglass Festival, Washington National Opera, San Francisco Symphony, The English Concert, Opernhaus Zürich, and Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin. Harvey last performed with H+H at the Naumburg Orchestral Concerts in New York City in July 2024.

“Love, Handel” Program

• Delirio amoroso (Love’s delirium) tells the story of Cloris’ Orpheus-like descent into the underworld to rescue her beloved Tyrsis; scored for soprano, oboes, strings, and continuo.

• Tra le fiamme (Among the flames) conveys the dangers of love through a retelling of the story of Daedalus and his son Icarus, who flew too close to the sun, paired with imagery of a butterfly attracted to a flame; features the viola da gamba, a bowed and fretted string instrument that is played “da gamba” (held between the legs).

• Also on the program is Handel’s Concerto Grosso in G Major, showcasing the full range of his compositional styles in five movements of contrasting moods including dance-like Allegros and a bittersweet Adagio.

The Handel and Haydn Society presents Love, Handel at NEC’s Jordan Hall (30 Gainsborough St, Boston) on Friday, February 7 at 7:30pm and Sunday, February 9 at 3:00pm.

Forty-five minutes prior to each performance all ticket holders are invited to Musically Speaking in Williams Hall. Hosted by H+H’s Christopher Hogwood Historically Informed Performance Fellow Teresa Neff, Ph.D. this talk provides background and context about the music and composers on the program.

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